Memories
by starah
Summary: Relm gets amnesia, and goes off to find the people who knew her. I really don't know if I'll finish this.
1. Relm's Decision

Where am I?   
...Seems awfully quiet.  
Hang on, is that a person? I think I hear...  
Yes, it is! It's ... very ragged breathing...   
Who is it?  
Why can't I see anything?  
...   
Oh right, my eyes are closed. I thought they were open.  
Mmm. Very, very blurred.  
And my arm hurts.  
The breathing's stopped.   
Damn.  
There it is again. Sounds better, by any rate.  
"Relm! You're awake!!"  
Sounds like an old man. Must be, I guess.   
And who's Relm? Sheesh... I thought he was talking to me.  
"Relm? Can you hear me?"  
Ugh, he's shaking the arm that hurts. A lot.  
Can't you see old guy, I'm not Relm... If you're talking to me, that is. I'm...?  
...?  
What is my name?  
Oh no... I can't remember...  
Anything.  
  
"Relm?!"  
"I'm awake, I'm awake..."  
She draped her right arm over her forehead in a tired fashion. Her hazel-brown eyes were half closed as she stared at the ceiling listlessly. Strago looked at her worriedly, but inside, relief was flooding through him.   
"Relm, thank goodness! I thought that maybe you could've... well, you know."  
He gulped.   
"Is that my name?"  
Her voice was dry and cracked; she sounded tired. Puzzlement flickered on Strago's worried face. Relm winced as she turned her head towards him. Her eyes searched him, and she licked her lips nervously.  
"What?"  
Strago's voice sounded as tired as Relm's, although it was twinged with anxiety.  
"I asked... is that my name. Relm."  
It looked as though Relm had finally pulled herself together - physically, anyways. Her eyes focused. She turned her head towards the old man.   
"I'm confused."  
She whispered.  
  
Five whole years had passed since the defeat of Kefka. The world was beginning to establish itself once more, and it appeared that the World of Ruin would soon return to its original state of Balance. Since then, two of the heroes that had fought so long ago had decided to settle down...  
It was nearing autumn weather. That means, thought Celes Cole as she opened her front door, that Locke only has a few days on which he can have his favourite soup for dinner. Her garden grew such vegetables... and it was her job to water them every afternoon, just before the sun set. A smile brushed her lips as she walked around her home to go into her garden. Imagine, she mused, a woman who used to be a general for the Empire, a cold-blooded murderer, watering a garden in an apron.   
As Celes approached her garden, she was surprised to see a snowy pigeon perched on her fence. She had just sent away her letter to Terra yesterday; surely pigeons couldn't deliver so quickly...? Well, she thought, I've got to water these properly, so...  
Celes watered her vegetables hurriedly, pulled out a couple and put it into a wooden bowl. Then she reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a few bread-crumbs. She offered it to the pigeon with her left hand, distracting the pigeon's attention while deftly taking the message tied around its leg with her other hand. As Celes sprinkled the rest of the crumbs onto the grass, she noticed the pigeon's wings were perfectly white.  
Owning carrier pigeons these days weren't strange; many people had one. Celes herself had one, and she'd named it 'Fleck' because the pigeon's wings were flecked with grey. Since she'd sent away the letter first, Terra would've sent her pigeon back. This pigeon wasn't hers. And I was hoping for an answer, Celes thought disappointedly, but she brushed her disappointment away. Any news was good, and with that thought in her head, she uncrumpled the note.   
The letter's scrawl was Strago's, Celes recognised almost immediately. She eyes began to read it as she stepped into her home once more, carrying the wooden bowl.  
  
Relm was in her room at home, her head in her hands as she thought and thought. Strago wasn't here at the moment...  
'Thank goodness,'  
Relm thought. He'd been pestering her about some wacko called Kefka and heroic fighters since the day she'd woken up. She couldn't really remember him. The name 'Relm' was familiar, so she allowed herself to believe that was her name. But Strago's stories...! Magic! The defeat of Kefka! She couldn't bring herself to believe it. All she could remember was that she was a fifteen-year old named Relm.   
There was a tapping on her window, which broke Relm's train of thoughts. Turning, she stood up from her chair and saw a snow-white pigeon frantically flapping and tapping the window with its beak. She slid the window open and let the pigeon in. Then, noticing a bit of paper tied onto the pigeon's leg, Relm grabbed the pigeon's neck and plucked the paper off. The pigeon made strange noises once Relm let go, then gave her a haughty look before flying out the open window again.  
She opened up the paper and saw a messily scrawn message printed across it. Her eyes began to scan it.  
  
"Celes."  
  
Relm felt something- a jolt- somewhere deep within. It was one of the names Strago had repeated to her whilst explaining the defeat of Kefka. Somehow, reading it to herself and hearing it had different effects. She continued to read it.  
  
"What should I do? You're the only one I know who owns a carrier pigeon, so it's you who I'll ask for advice. Just a week ago, some thief broke into my home. This was while I wasn't in Thamasa, so I'll tell you my theory. She went into Relm's room, but Relm awoke and attempted to stop her. Probably, the freak threw her down the stairs. The clatter brought half of Thamasa to my home and they caught the thief. However, it appears Relm actually landed on her head while falling, thus falling into a coma. Then I came back. I waited for Relm to awake, and in about four days or so, she did. But she doesn't remember a thing. She doesn't remember me... or you, or anyone from our party for that matter. Absolutely nothing! What am I to do? Thamasa has very rebellious people in it; Relm could be thrown out if she's found without any memory of magic... (which is why I'm not asking any of them for help) How can I make her... remember?"  
  
Relm frowned. Why did Strago send himself a letter?? Then she realised, as she turned the page over, that there was a much more neater and straighter piece of writing on the back. Relm began to read again.   
  
"In my hurry to write back, I'm using your message paper. Strago, that's horrible! Relm forgot EVERYTHING? Well... this is just an idea, but if you really want to make her remember, why don't you let her meet us again? I'm sure that'll make her remember something. Have you tried saying familiar lines to her? Try bringing her to South Figaro so she can meet Terra, or Kolinghen to meet me and Locke, or to the Veldt so she can meet Gau, or even to Figaro castle where I think Edgar, Sabin and Cyan all are. I've given you the locations; Sabin and Terra have carrier pigeons, so you might want to ask them for help. Well, good luck... I'd love to see Relm, I haven't seen her in ages."  
  
Relm's jaw slackened. Strago seemed like such an old guy, though... she didn't feel up to asking him to drag her around the world to meet up with old colleagues.  
'Perhaps I should go alone... '  
She appealed to the idea. Stashing the letter away, she pulled out a piece of her own paper and began to write.   
  
After checking her supplies, Relm set foot as quickly she possibly could. The unfamilar - yet strangely very familiar - landscapes chilled her, and sudden winds whipped around her face and legs. But she stubbornly continued to plow through the dry weeds and grass which were cast with blood-red hues from the sky, wade in waist-deep creeks of brown and yellow water - occasionally she met clear blue water pools which she drank from gratefully - and often check the map she'd found under her bed. On the back of it, there was a message written 'Thanks to the Falcon!' and her name was signed on it.   
What really confused Relm were the monsters. She had her daggers and rods prepared to make damage on any enemy, but the monsters either a)took one look at her and suddenly bolted the opposite direction b)were too busy to even notice her, or perhaps because c)were too tame and peace-wanting to attack innocent passer-bys. Some were so beautiful, or just so interesting, that when Relm stopped to take rests, she took from her bag a sketch-book from her room and sketched.  
The sketch-book and pencil had a nice feel to it, and she found with delight that her ability to draw was more than she'd expected.  
On one occasion where she'd sat down to sketch a Noh-rabbit, she tried flicking back to previous pages, where Relm found lots and lots of pictures. Their names were scribbled beneath in what Relm recognised to be her own writing.  
On the first page she found that 'Terra', drawn in colour pencils, had pale-green hair that fell in waves. Her hair was tied up and tendrils of it framed her pale but pretty face. Her eyes looked loving and caring, her small lips curled in a soft smile. She was looking downwards, and several children had been drawn reaching up for Terra, their faces sweaty but excited and adoring. Relm felt a pang of happiness when she saw it.   
In the next page, 'Celes' and 'Locke' had been drawn together with water-colours. Locke's arms were wrapped loosely around Celes' waist, his greyish-brown hair falling in a floppy manner over a navy blue bandanna. His face shape held a sharp angle, but his mouth was in a goofy grin and his eyes were twinkling in the sunlight Relm had drawn shafting in for effect. Celes had an extremely white complexion, her bare arms drawn to show a rather muscular, yet feminine figure. Her lips, though thin, were smiling widely, and longly-eyelashed eyes were closed. Her blond hair was tied in a loose fashion, and the sunlight cast on her hair, making it look white-blond and her skin milky. "I suppose they're married now." The thought filtered in and out so quickly that Relm didn't have time to register it.  
Onto the next page; a handsome man with slick, tied back black hair and moustache was here. His double-chin stuck out stubbornly, a bit stubbly. She had drawn him with only pencil. However, from the black-and-white piece, she saw that she'd chosen to only colour his eyes. They were brown and drawn so clearly, and the man's expression showed gratitude and contentment. Below the piece, Relm found that she'd written 'Cyan'. Funnily enough, she knew how to pronounce it already.  
Into the next page, she found a fully clothed figure swathed in colourful fabric. This piece was coloured effectively with collage. Its eyes were shadowed over, and long, slender fingers were spread infront of itself. 'Gogo' had been written in a scrawl next to the person's head. "Where is Gogo now anyway??" She thought. She blinked several times before deciding it was another memory pang.  
On the next page she found 'Setzer' drawn in pen before being lightly air-brushed. The man had a long mane of grey hair that fell in sharp waves past his shoulders. His eyes had small irises, but the light-grey eyes were drawn very brightly. His skin looked extremely delicate and bore a strangely shock-white complexion. His lips were put in an arrogant smile, and a gloved left hand held up three or four trump cards. "I wonder if he's stopped gambling yet," was the first thing that came to mind for Relm when she saw it. She was starting to get used to her memory pangs.  
She licked her index-finger and flicked to the next page of the sketchbook. A strange figure clothed in black; infact, completely covered, even with a mask; was sitting down. It had to be a man, since there were no feminine features of the figure. The build was more on the leaner side, and Relm recognised the man to be a ninja. Throwing stars and an unsheathed sword/dagger lay scattered at the ninja's side. The whole thing had been drawn with 7Bs and over; Relm could tell just by looking at it. There was a strange occurance; below the ninja her handwriting wrote 'Shadow', but then in another person's writing there was the name 'Clyde' just by it. She couldn't be stuffed to figure out the rest, so she ignored it.   
'Umaro' and 'Mog' awaited her in the next page. It was drawn in pencil and smudged with white chalk powder. Relm had no idea what Umaro was, but Mog looked like a moogle. The moogle was sitting on Umaro's shoulder, and they were both waving and grinning (although Umaro stupidly) towards the artist. "And that moogle just loved dancing..." Relm's thoughts trailed off.   
She was presented with two blonde men in the next page, drawn with rough detail with pastel coloured powder and lead. She studied it for quite a long time, the names below announcing them to be 'Edgar' and 'Sabin'. They were both laughing together. Edgar's build was sleeker than Sabin's muscly build. But she soon found resemblances between the two; like their sparkling brown eyes and sharp facial features. They were twins. Her mouth automatically curled into a smile when she glanced at the picture.   
The page after showed a young boy. It was at an angled view, pencil drawn, and coloured lightly to shade areas of the youth. His build was tall and lanky, yet muscles were evident from the view she'd drawn at, even when she'd drawn his shoulders slack. The boys eyes were brown and glazed over with pale green. He was grinning eagerly at the artist. Green strands of hair formed bangs on his tanned face, and the rest was tied back with a long piece of string. She read the name as 'Gau'. "Must be lonely..." she thought. Then she realised that the first place she had been planning to visit was the Veldt. Gau was on the Veldt...   
The last page from the pages on which she'd drawn her party members was Strago. He had a triumphant smile, and edges near his eyes were visibly crinkled with laughter lines. He was grinning a very toothy smile that stretched widely, and youth shone through the oil-painted picture. She'd felt something stab at her when she saw the picture, and she couldn't figure out why. Was it recognition...?   
When she'd finished sketching, she extinguished the fire she'd built. It was too dark to carry on. She was next to a huge tree anyways, and felt reassured that she no enemy would attack her. Pulling out a quilt and folding it over herself, she wrapped her jacket around her bag and used it as a pillow. Resting her head on it, she closed her eyes and fell asleep without much thought.   
  
...Relm, if you try to run before you can walk properly, you'll hurt yourself- RELM!! *sigh*...  
...Relm, that HURTS, don't hit me on the head using a chair, I don't produce brain-cells anymore...  
...Wow, you made these, Relm? ...you're better at drawing than cooking, though- OW!...  
...No, Relm, I don't want you to practise drawing portraits using me as the guinea pig...  
...Don't forget, Relm, I'm not going anywhere until I feel I can. And don't forget that I love you...  
  
When Relm awoke the next morning, her jaw dropped open, she let out a cry of shock.  
"Grandpa!"  
All her dreams had been filled with images of him and memories were flooding back to her in tidal waves. She remembered him. Still feeling the shock, she pulled out from her bag a sandwich and began to chew vigorously. If she continued her journey, she'd really remember all of her memories. Then she could return home, into the welcoming arms of Thamasa and her old man. She grinned through a mouthful of toasted bread and tunafish when she thought about how far into her journey she'd gone; it was already her third day!   
Pleased, she began to travel once more. To her utter surprise, it was only ten minutes until she reached the shore. She glanced the the map she held in her hand. Thamasa was on an island. Well, she thought, I was thinking of making a raft or something... she'd brought the necessary tools in her bag. Turning, she walked into a clump of trees and spent the rest of the day fixing up her raft. Her rope was thick enough, which Relm was relieved to see, and her saw was only having very little difficulty going through the wood. She was sanding it with glasspaper by the time the sun was setting. Having had plenty of breaks inbetween, Relm didn't feel too tired when she'd finally finished. She kicked the raft until it was just touching the waters.  
Relm set her bag down and covered herself with her quilt again on top of the raft, knowing that the raft wouldn't move without a sail and her weight was probably anchoring it down. She fell asleep quickly.  
She was in for a surprise. The next morning, she woke up to be scared half to death. She was in a totally different area; she could see land a little far off, but it didn't look like Thamasa. Her raft must have been moving all night straight after she'd fallen asleep. The gentle bobbing of the water was making Relm feel a little shaky; she'd never used a raft before, she'd only seen Grandpa make one.  
She reached over her bag and grabbed the make-shift paddle she'd taken the night before - a branch off a tree - and rowed the raft as well as she could over to the land visible. The landmass turned out to be huge, and Relm was panting by the time she reached the edge of it. She clambered onto land with her bag and paddle, and watched her raft drift away as she caught her breath up. Then Relm looked around.  
There was long, dry grass covering everything she could see so far. Relm was thirsty, and she was soon moving to find water. She walked and walked, her throat parching, and Relm finally found a small creek. She followed it up to the main stream before drinking deeply from it.   
Relm leant back after her drink, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Aside the stream, there was a pool of water, and Relm knew it was probably mostly rainwater. There were animals and monsters all over the place, and Relm expected to meet some in here, as it was the opening to a small, open forest. Suddenly, Relm heard a shout of laughter from the forest. Raising her eyebrows, Relm started to walk deeper into the forest. It was rather open, and Relm found that the laughter had come from the other end of the pool of rainwater. Relm hid behind the surrounding trees as she moved closer, trying to get a closer look at the person. Quite close up, Relm saw that it was a boy wearing jeans. He had no top on, and his green hair was tied back in a ponytail...   
'He sure looks familiar,'  
Relm thought, and suddenly realised who he was as he snapped his head back, the sea-animals he was playing with splashing water about.  
It was Gau.  
'But he looks so different...!'  
Relm thought, craning her neck as much as possible to get a better look. Suddenly, a whole load of memories rushed into her...  
  
...Oo? Me Gau, who you? What? You don't get Gau? Aaoo...  
...Wah!! Gau sorry, Gau try to fix, Relm's dress okay? Wah!! Gau sorry...  
...Gau thirteen, Relm how old? Ten? Aaooo, Relm so young - oww!...  
...Aaooo, Relm very good at drawing, Relm draw Gau? Thank you Relm, drawing so good...  
...Gau quite like Relm. Will Relm come see Gau sometimes? Aaoo?...  
  
Relm's eyes snapped back to her gaze at the boy laughing and splashing about in the water. He had changed a lot, and now Relm realised that if she was fifteen, he was eighteen. His hair was much more groomed than last time, although it was still long, and his skin was slightly tanned. His dress-sense had changed too, Relm noticed; he wasn't wearing his old monster-hides. He was actually kinda cute now, Relm thought, his laugh quite boyish and pleasant to hear.  
He then got out of the water and bid farewell to his friends. He made to get out of the forest. Relm knew that now that she remembered him, there was no need to stay. She turned to leave, when she heard the memory repeat itself in her mind again...  
  
...Gau quite like Relm. Will Relm come see Gau sometimes? Aaoo?...  
  
Relm thought for a moment before turning around again and moving through the trees once more. His back was to her when she emerged, a bit shy, and called out in a bit of a questioning tone,  
"Gau?"  
Gau turned around with an eyebrow raised. Then his eyes widened and his face split into a grin. He ran up to her and enveloped her in a hug.  
"Relm! Hey, you came to visit!"  
Relm was first shocked by the sudden hug, and secondly by his seemingly perfect English. She felt her face burn at the fact that he was shirtless. Relm pushed him away and gave him a smile.   
"Hi Gau... uh, nice English."  
Gau gave her a wide grin.  
"Yeah, Gau learnt it from Sabin... I mean, I learnt it... phew, it's hard."  
Relm smiled again, straining her memory for the familiar name of Sabin, and now remembered the point of her coming here. Gau looked about her, as though expecting someone else.  
"Where's Strago?"  
"Uh... well, Gau, to tell you the absolute truth..."  
Relm explained her predicament of amnesia, and Gau listened intently and quietly. After she had finished, he nodded.  
"I see. But how do you remember me?"  
"I.. just remembered. When... I saw you playing with your friends."  
Gau grinned, and Relm grinned embarrassedly back.  
"I thought I saw someone in the trees."  
"Sorry, I didn't have the guts to say hello. Until now, that is."  



	2. A Behemoth Distraction

"That's okay. So where Relm-- mu, you going now?"  
Relm thought about this for a moment.  
"I was thinking of visiting the closest place to here."  
Gau tapped his chin in thought.  
"I don't really know,"  
He confessed with a bit of a laugh,  
"But I think Locke and Celes might be close because Celes' pigeon always flies here before Terra's."  
Locke and Celes...? Relm then saw the picture she'd drawn in her mind; the pretty blonde woman, and the mischievous looking guy in the bandanna.  
"Blonde woman?"  
She tried. Gau nodded.  
"You remember!"  
He exclaimed delightedly. Relm shook her head, sighing.  
"I wish it was as easy as that."  
Gau noticed her depressed expression, and nudged her lightly. Relm looked up to see brown eyes that were glazed over with pale green, gold-flecked in the streaming sunlight. They were filled with kind warmth, as was his smile.  
"Don't worry, Relm. You'll be able to remember. You remembered me, right? And Strago?"  
Relm managed a small smile back in return.  
"I guess you're right. Thanks."  
She said gratefully, before she glanced around the area. She saw the endless fields of dry grass, but further on she could see in the distance other young forests, like the one she'd just been in, silver streams, and richer, greener fields where she could see a few monsters grazing. For some reason, she kept thinking of barren wastelands and grey rock, and somehow, she just knew that the Veldt was slowly, but surely, regenerating.  
Regenerating? She wondered where the word had come from. Regenerate back into what?   
What it used to be before the World of Ruin - back in the World of Balance.  
Now where did that come from, Relm thought distractedly, before she realised that Gau was looking at her curiously. Quickly bringing herself back to reality, she asked,  
"Do you know how I could get to where they are?"  
"Mmm... I know that Celes and Locke are married, in Kolinghen."  
Gau replied thoughtfully.  
"As I thought."  
The words automatically popped out of Relm's mouth, and she blinked in surprise. Gau grinned at her.  
"Was that a memory comeback or are you just pretending?"  
He joked, and patted her head.  
"I think you just have to wait. It'll all come back in time."  
He said reassuringly. Relm pouted.  
"You're treating me like a kid. You're just three years older than me, and you're not that old either!"  
Gau crossed his arms as he leant back from her, and looked around her as though he was inspecting her.  
"Hmm. Yes, you have matured a lot from what you were five years ago,"  
He said, grinning. So have you, Relm thought, but refrained from commenting and instead said mock-annoyedly,  
"Well, I would hope so!"  
"Prettier, too."  
They said different lines in unison, but they heard what each other had said. Relm felt a pink tinge her cheeks as Gau laughed.  
"They made new ferry connections from Doma to South Figaro, and I think they said they were making one to Kolinghen too. Let's go check."  
Doma? Relm thought.  
"Doma? Isn't that where Cyan--... oh. I did it again."  
Relm stopped in the middle because she'd lost her strand of thought, but Gau patted her on the head again, smiling.  
"Just be patient. Cyan isn't in Doma at the moment - he's in Figaro Castle, from what I read in the last letter from Terra. Okay, you need to go to Doma. I'll take you there."  
Relm raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
"I thought the Veldt was an isolated bit of land."  
She said. Gau nodded.  
"It is, but I made a bridge."  
"You made a bridge?!"  
Relm squawked. Gau nodded, walking back towards the forest they'd just been in.  
"Yeah. It wasn't hard, but it took a while, I'll admit that."  
Relm trotted after him.  
"I'm just going to pack a few things, do you mind?"  
He asked. Relm stopped in her tracks.  
"Pack a few things?"  
She repeated.  
"Yeah. Can I? You're not in too much of a hurry, are you?"  
"A-are you coming with me?"  
She stammered a little, looking at him in surprise.   
"I hope you don't mind. I haven't seen Cyan in ages, and he's a real father-figure to me. I want to see Sabin, too. Oh, and Edgar, Terra, Locke and Celes."  
Relm resumed her stride, still surprised.  
"I-I don't mind... but... are you sure you want to come?"  
Having reached the dappled floors of the forest, Gau began to pick up a few things from here and there from a small burrow-like ditch at the side.  
"Yeah! It'll be fun, I think. I need to bid the king congratulations, anyways."  
"King?"  
Relm felt that she was repeating him a lot, but she was absorbing what she thought was too much at once.  
"Edgar's the king of Figaro... I heard from the birds that he's marrying someone but I'm not sure who just yet."  
"What else do the birds say?"  
Relm asked as she watched him pull on a white shirt, his next few words muffled as he did so.  
"Nuffling much, exshept that a villhage ish being conthidered to be buil-fk-t again on the Veldt."  
Relm brightened a little.  
"That's good, isn't it?"  
Gau looked thoughtful as he stuffed into a rough rucksack items like an earth-clay cup, a few apples and what looked like a tin of something that rattled like money.  
"As long as they don't disturb the animals here."  
He said, and he slung the bag onto his shoulder after he finished putting in what he felt was necessary.  
"Shall we go?"  
He asked. Relm giggled.  
"You don't need to be so overly formal."  
Gau crinkled his nose.  
"I can't help but be formal, it was the way Sabin and Cyan taught it. Mostly the way Cyan taught it."  
Relm laughed, and agreed,  
"Yes, let's go."  
"Where first? Kolinghen or Figaro castle?"  
Gau asked. Relm thought, then said,  
"All my clothes are so travel-worn, I think I want to buy some new ones. Let's go to Kolinghen first."  
He grinned, flicking his pony-tail back as he laughed,  
"You're just worried about meeting the king in those clothes, aren't you?"  
Relm blushed as she said haughtily,  
"Well, aren't you?"  
Gau shook his head, still smiling. He plodded onto through the dry grass before him, and motioned to her to follow on. As she stepped into his tracks, he said,  
"Nope. You and I are an exception... it doesn't matter whether we're wearing rags or riches."  
Relm sighed.  
"Well, if you say so,"  
She answered softly, and followed quietly, contemplating the facts. Edgar was a king -- a king of Figaro... which makes Sabin a prince? She wondered. And Gau, acting like he was best friends with the king... maybe he was, Relm thought doubtfully, then wondered, hey, may we were...  
Because she was thinking so much, she didn't notice Gau had stopped walking until her head bonked into his back.  
"Oww... hey, why did you stop?!"  
He had a sweatdrop as he pointed in front of him, and Relm peeked around him and felt her jaw drop in surprise.  
"Wh-what is that?!"  
"Uhmm... it's a behemoth."  
Gau started, still looking at it with a sweatdrop, when it roared so loud Relm felt her hair rustle, and let out a stifled scream when it lunged immediately at them, it's sharp, yellowing teeth bared and dripping with thick, rubbery strands of saliva.  
Relm turned to run, her eyes wide with horror, when Gau's arm gripped her round the waist firmly and jumped up. He flipped right over the beast, and it landed upon the grass, unearthing clumps of grass and soil with it's long claws as Gau landed nimbly behind it.  
The first thing Relm did was throw a fit.  
"You MORON!! You could TELL me before we go jumping and throwing acrobatics everywhere!!!"  
She whapped his arm off her and glared at him as he scratched his head confusedly.  
"G-Gau sorry!!"  
He stammered,  
"Gau d-didn't know he could m-make Relm so mad!"  
Relm was incredibly embarrassed. She was wearing a dress! She didn't even *want* to know what on earth Gau had managed to see.  
"Just don't do it again!"  
She snapped, and then remembered that Gau was..., well, Gau. *He* was probably the one didn't even care about what he might've seen. As she sneaked a glance at him, he was biting his lip, his eyes extremely sad and apologetic... geez, now I feel guilty, Relm thought.  
"Sorry for shouting."  
She muttered, and he smiled almost immediately. He dropped his bag as he checked on the monster's reaction to their agility.  
The behemoth let out a threatening growl, and as they turned, it pounced again, aiming to swipe at Gau's neck. He slipped under the claw easily, but as he glanced up, Relm's pupils were contracting in dread as the behemoth's claw drew nearer to her own head.  
Gritting his teeth, Gau jumped onto Relm and pressed her quickly down onto the ground, the claw passing without harming a hair on her head.  
Feeling his heart-beating against her own rapid thudding made Relm's face turn red. He then gripped her shoulders to roll over with her quickly to avoid the behemoth's tail, which whipped out a fair amount of dry earth where they had just been lying. They rolled several metres off before stopping. He got off her quickly, and Relm followed suit.   
"Aren't you friends with all the animals here?"  
She asked with a raised eyebrow, but then she saw that Gau's face looked slightly contorted in... pain?  
"Mu... not with some monsters,"  
He replied, and visibly winced.  
"Gau...?"  
Before she could say anything, though, he stood up and backed away a few steps, his eyes on the monster that was growling to his right.  
"Relm, sorry, but get out of the way for a moment."  
Then he stepped to squarely face the behemoth, and shut his eyes. The behemoth let out an almighty roar as it lunged towards him once more, a claw aiming to main his throat. Relm gasped in surprise when Gau made no move to avoid it, but his eyes opened. They glowed red, his irises a shade of scarlet.  
Relm stared. This was strangely familiar. In fact, she was extremely familiar with it. She didn't have time to think about it though, because Gau brought her back to the present as he brought his arms up and shouted,  
"GIGA VOLT!!"  
A crackle sounded before lightning crashed heavily onto the behemoth, bursting in flashes of electric blue before leaving the badly burnt behemoth to let out a low whine. It whimpered away, limping.  
Now that, Relm thought, wasn't magic, but... hell, it's familiar, she thought as she irritatedly racked her brains for an answer but to no avail.  
Gau closed his eyes again, and opened them again. They were the normal, pale-green-brown eyes that Relm knew, but Gau wasn't smiling.  
Then Relm saw the blood streaked across the grass where she and him has rolled. She looked at Gau with a questioning look, and approached him slowly. He looks a little grey, Relm realised. She ran the last few steps towards him and grasped his shoulder, earning a startled look from him before she turned him around and gasped.  
She'd only seen his profile until now, and she could see that the behemoth had torn a heavy gash out of Gau. Blood had stained a great lot of his shirt, and as the gash was mostly at the right side of his back, his shoulder-sleeve was starting to soak dark-red as well.  
The memory of her frozen to the spot, watching the claw about to sink into her, then being pushed down to the ground by Gau... his wince after confirmed it.  
"This is from when I..., isn't it?"  
She said uncertainly as she gingerly pressed her fingers to the skin around.  
"It's nothing,"  
He said roughly, twisting around to avoid letting Relm take a closer look at it, but she kicked him in the shin.  
"Oww!!"  
He yelped, and she pulled her bag up to her and snapped,  
"Sit down Mr. Macho while I dress that."  
He obediently sat down, and she instructed,  
"Strip."  
"Wh-wh-what?!!"  
Gau cried, his eyes widening as he started to back away from her. Relm realised what the implication had sounded like, and blushed.  
"Idiot, that's not what I mean!! Just-- just take off your shirt!!"  
He blinked before laughing, and pulled off his shirt, discarding it by them and turning around. Relm stared for the second time that day at Gau.  
"What?"  
He asked. She couldn't believe the number of scars she could see on his back.  
"Uhmm... nothing,"  
She replied, and took up a bottle of alcohol, a jar of salve and a roll of bandages from her bag. Then she realised she had nothing to put the alcohol on, so she ripped a long strip out of her cloak.  
"What's that ripping sound?"  
Gau asked nervously, and Relm patted his shoulder as she said,  
"Go stare at something and concentrate, because this is going to hurt."  
He flinched at her touch on his shoulder, and Relm sighed. It's really going to hurt, she thought.  
Soaking the cloth in alcohol, she wiped her hands with it, resoaked it, then took a deep breath. Then she pressed the cloth onto the start of the diagonal gash at the base of his right shoulder.  
The reaction was immediate.  
"GUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"  
He began to squirm immediately, and Relm gripped his shoulders as she said in annoyance,  
"Hold still!!"  
"Muuuuu!! Painful!!!!  
He cried, tears springing to his eyes. No wonder the scars remain, Relm thought.  
"What's so funny?!"  
He demanded as she giggled.  
"Because you're eighteen and you act like you're eight,"  
She replied, and squeezed the cloth. The alcohol seeped out and into the gash that ended halfway down his back, and he cringed.  
"Aww, no 'guaaahhh'?"  
She teased as she began to gently cleanse the wound.  
"Nnnnnn."  
Gau answered, and Relm giggled again.  
"You're speaking through your teeth."  
"Nnnnnnn!"  
Relm couldn't stop giggling even though she was wiping blood off such a horrible gash, and after that, she applied the salve from the jar. Gau relaxed and closed his eyes.  
"....Mmmuuuuuuu...."  
He sounds like he's purring, Relm thought.  
"Honestly,"  
Relm huffed,   
"The salve makes you feel that good?"  
He shook his head, letting out this time something that sounded more like a purr.  
"Uh, okay. Whatever."  
She replied, massaging the salve more tentatively into the more deeper part of the wound. I wonder, she thought, where all these scars come from. Fighting monsters?  
Her nails held the start of the bandage firmly onto his shoulder as she wrapped it slowly around the shoulder and around his chest, covering the back injury as best as she could, and cut it with a pocket-knife. Tucking the loose end in, she grinned and patted his back lightly.  
"There you go! Good as new."  
He didn't wince, which she took as a good sign, when she noticed he was studying something in his lap.  
"What are you doing? Gau?"  
She looked over his shoulder, and saw him staring at his picture. The picture that she'd drawn in her sketchbook, which was supposed to be in her bag, which was supposed to be next to her.... which was now opened and its contents spilled over the grass in front of Gau.  
Regardless of him being wounded, Relm enjoyed her own privacy, thank you very much. So she took the liberty to thwack him at the back of his head, hard.  
"Muu!! That hurt!"  
Gau cried, looking up at her. He cowered under her stormy glare.  
"That. Is. My, I repeat, MY. Bag. Pick. Everything. Up. NOW."  
He scrambled to grab everything and stuff it back into her bag.  
"I just wanted to see your sketchbook,"  
He muttered,  
"I really liked looking through your drawings... I still do. They're beautiful; just like the real thing."  
She blushed but still managed to maintain a glare, so he sighed and continued to put everything in.  
"Thank you."  
Relm replied as he handed the bag to her, and she slung it over her shoulder.  
"Is the bridge close?"  
She asked. Gau nodded, picking up his own bag.  
"It's quite close. We'd've gotten there by now if it hadn't been for that behemoth."  
"What..."  
Relm struggled to find the right words as she walked along beside Gau,  
"What was that... uhm, that 'thing' you did?"  
He blinked.  
"Thing?"  
"Yeah... you know,"  
Relm frowned,  
"That Giga Volt thing."  
"Ohh,"  
Gau said with a nod,  
"That's my 'Rage'. I can imitate animals."  
"Animals?"  
Relm repeated in surprise.  
"Yeah, monsters, basically. I can imitate their attacks and use it against them."  
Relm tapped her chin with a finger.  
"That wasn't... magic?"  
Gau looked surprised for a moment before smiling brightly.  
"Relm, you remember magic!"  
"No no,"  
Relm said quickly,  
"It's just that I heard about it from grandpa and everything."  
"Still,"  
Gau said with a grin,  
"It's good to know you kinda remember how it looked like. You were probably thinking of Lightning."  
"Lightning...?"  
Gee, that strikes a familiar chord in me too, Relm mused.   
"It'll all come in time,"  
Gau said warmly,  
"You'll see." 


	3. Grassy Interlude

[A little short... but oh well. ^^;]  
  
"Are we there yet?!"  
Relm whined as they walked, or rather, as Relm was practically being dragged by Gau to Doma.  
"It's just up ahead,"  
Gau said as encouragingly as he could to the half-dead girl. Her expression darkened further into gloom.  
"You said that at least five times, and the faint outline has not been getting any clearer."  
He sighed, turning to face the unhappy aura Relm was giving off, and saw her drooped eyes and sagging body.  
"You're tired?"  
"Nooo,"  
She snapped sarcastically,  
"I'm just peachy."  
"It's really just up ahead..."  
He tried, but she glared so sharply at him he stopped speaking in surprise.  
"We haven't even reached the bridge yet!!"  
She cried, throwing her bag down onto the grass.  
The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, and each long grass blade had long, distinct shadows that streaked back along the reddening fields. Grazing monsters were slowly heading away to their dens, and the sky above had a wine-red hue that cast everything crimson. It was a beautifully scarlet landscape, but Relm just couldn't bring herself to enjoy it.  
Doma castle was no where in view, not to mention the stupid bridge, and now that the bag was removed Relm became aware of her aching shoulder from where the strap had been cutting in. Her feet had to have more than just a few blisters, and her eyes were itching and watering because they were too tired.  
Relm collapsed onto the dry grass and let out a high whine. Gau was staring at her in disbelief, his condition looking like it had a few hours ago (just fine), but she had had enough.  
"Let's take a break,"  
She moaned. To her surprise, he shook his head.  
"Relm,"  
He said, his tone now rid of its usual cheer and now a tad bit impatient,  
"If we don't reach Doma by night we will have a hell of a time trying to get there in the dark. Sleeping here won't do much good because monsters don't give a damn what time they attack."  
Relm pouted.  
"But..."  
She began, but he shot a glance at her that made her stubborn resolve wither a bit. She tried again.  
"But Gau... I'm so tired... I really am. Let's just take a small break. Just a little one."  
She measured an inch between her fingers to emphasise the shortness she meant. Apparently, it wasn't short enough for Gau, and his annoyance got the better of him - and his words.  
"Look at sky, Relm! Sun is setting!!"  
She winced at his growing irritation. Her sores and aches pounded through her bones and muscles, though, so she pleaded just one more time.  
"Gau... just a minute... okay?"  
His eye twitched. Relm shut her eyes tightly as he drew in breath, as though he was about to shout at her, and waited for his yelling to start. But she had underestimated Gau's patience. He let out his breath slowly, and looked at Relm.  
She felt the grass before her rustle, and she opened her eyes to meet the back of the shirt Gau had changed into. He was crouched before her in a very familiar position.  
"Hop on then,"  
He muttered,  
"I'll carry you there."  
She looked stunned. Seeing her frozen in place, Gau reached over and pulled her arms around his neck, and heaved her up as he put his arms around her rear.  
"A little co-operation here?"  
He mumbled, finding it difficult to stand up as her legs were splayed rather awkwardly about him.  
"Huh? Oh... uhm... yeah."  
She adjusted her position, and he slid his arms below her knees. He gestured for her bag, and soon both bags were on a shoulder and he was walking off with Relm on his back. Her face was bright red, not just from the sun.  
I shouldn't have whined so much, she thought embarrassedly, I can't believe myself sometimes. I've been through worse, I'm sure of it - the look on his face totally said that he found it weird for me to whine...  
Maybe I should apologise? I mean, it's pretty stupid, and I feel kind of dumb now. Although it's a nice change to travel like this... no wait, what am I thinking?! The shoulder bags should be killing him by now, and I'm no light feather, either. Even though he looks and seems perfectly fine... but still. I think, Relm decided, an apology is in store.  
She opened to her mouth to do so, but Gau spoke first.  
"I'm sorry..."  
She blinked.  
"Eh?"  
"I'm sorry,"  
He repeated,  
"I didn't mean to shout at you. I just... hate the dark."  
Relm raised her eyebrows.  
"Aren't you used to it by now?"  
She asked, and he gave a small laugh.  
"It's a starless night tonight."  
"I see."  
Tiredly resting her cheek against his shoulder, she sighed.  
"You're too nice, Gau."  
"Hmm?"  
She yawned as she mumbled,  
"Way too nice..."  
He felt his cheeks warm at the way her breath reached just below his ear.  
"Mu... I'm not as nice as you think."  
He started, but stopped as he heard. the rhythmetic breathing that indicated sleep. He sighed deeply.  
"No fair, Relm get to sleep? Gau tired too..."  
He sighed, but a small smile lit his features.  
He picked up his pace.  
The shadows lengthened and the red light darkened as the young man trudged through the fields of grass. 


End file.
